The Recruit (5 page)

‘Is Pax here?’

‘Nup.’

‘It’s still his gym, yeah?’

Jaz flicked her hair from her eyes before answering and gave the stranger a head to toe inspection. Why was he so familiar? His grey t-shirt fitted his muscled chest to perfection. God she loved working at the gym.

‘Yep.’

Who was he and how did he know Pax? He didn’t look that old, maybe twenty-five at most, so what would he want with Pax? His body was long and lean; he definitely kept fit so maybe he was an instructor or something. A scary instructor at that. As handsome as he was, her radar was screaming ‘danger’ and she couldn’t read his expression. His eyes were so dark and almost menacing, like he could kill if he was ordered to. And that’s when she realised why he was familiar. He was the bouncer guy from the nightclub. The one who reminded her of a soldier. She never forgot a pair of muscled arms.

‘I’ve come to work out for a while; do you have short-term memberships?’

She threw her sponge into the bucket with precision and nodded her head towards the front desk. He followed obediently.

‘Fill in this form, sign here and the amounts per month are there. Take your pick,’ she said pushing the paper towards him.

‘So, you been working for Pax for long?’ Mr Mysterious asked.

‘Yep, you could say I’ve been working here for most of my life, but I’ve been getting paid for the last seven. I’m running it at the moment while Pax is away.’

Those dark eyes were studding her closely. Jaz felt like she was being stripped bare.

‘You seem familiar. Have we met?’

‘I think so. You’re a bouncer right? You probably don’t remember me from a few weeks ago — ’

‘Oh, the girl in the black dress,’ he said. ‘How could I forget?’

Jaz swallowed hard. He remembered her and her dress. Wowzers.

Ryan began to fill in the paperwork. ‘You know, I’ve been here a few times before and I don’t remember you.’

Jaz just shrugged. ‘Yeah well, I don’t remember you either.’

She saw his eyes flash with humour; did he find her smart mouth amusing?

‘So when will Pax be back?’

Jaz put her hand on her hip, and leant the other one against the table. ‘Whenever he wants.’

The guy sighed and rested his hip against the desk. ‘Are you always so curt?’

‘Do you always ask so many questions?’

The guy smiled at her cockiness.

‘My name’s Ryan,’ he said holding out his hand.

‘I know,’ she said shaking it. He tilted his head at her curiously. ‘It’s on your form,’ she said pointing to his paperwork and laughing.

Ryan dragged his hand down his face before glancing at her.

‘My name’s Jaz, it’s nice to meet you Ryan. So how well do you know Pax?’

‘Um, we see each other from time to time and I try to keep in touch but it’s hard with work. I’m travelling a fair bit but I’m home for a while and I’m going nuts with nothing to do, and so I’m here.’

Jaz watched him carefully; did she detect his evasion of her question? She reached over into the desk drawer, pulled out a key, and threw it at him.

‘This is for your locker which is through that door,’ she pointed to the back corner. ‘Showers and change rooms are also in there.’

‘Thanks, I’ll come back later.’ He turned towards the door.

‘Ryan?’

‘Yeah?’ He turned to face her.

Jaz walked to him and handed him a piece of paper. ‘These are the times for the gym, and one of our regulars takes boxing lessons if you’re interested.’

‘Cheers, but I’m happy just doing my own training.’

She nodded. ‘No worries. See you around.’ She watched him leave. Watched him walk past the window with his long strides and his cute butt. Then she turned on her heel and headed back to the mat cleaning while she thought of his eyes and the mystery they held.

Jaz had fencing practice after school so she’d organised Tick to open up the gym. It’s not like they ever had hordes of new people signing up to the gym. Ryan was the newest member in over five months. She’d thought about him a few times, wondering how he knew Pax. It had nothing to do with his strong jaw, manly build or his fine brown hair that was trimmed to perfection.

But Ryan had drifted quickly from her mind when Taylor appeared at practice. He made his white protective gear look so cool, while the rest resembled Froot Loops in straitjackets. Her day got better as they teamed up to practice together.

‘I liked it better when I could kick your arse easily,’ puffed Taylor as he took off his mask and clapped Jaz on the back. ‘But then again, it’s nice to actually have a worthy opponent who makes me work for it.’

Oh how she wished she could make him work for it, but he wasn’t interested. Yet! Don’t worry, she was still trying. Jaz took off her mask and walked with him towards the coach, who was already bellowing.

‘Don’t forget, the other school will be arriving in a few days. I want you kids ready by nine o’clock on Thursday. We will meet again then. Chop, chop, off you go.’ The coach scratched his goatee as they headed for the change rooms.

‘What’s Anna doing?’ asked Taylor as they paused outside the change room door.

‘She’s researching at the library…something that’s way over my head…and then she’ll come to The Ring.’

‘You off to The Ring now?’

‘Yep, no rest for the wicked. You wanna come and keep me company?’
Say yes, please say yes
, she begged. Taylor was leaning his shoulder against the doorway so casually but if he leaned towards her a fraction, it would be much more intimate. Sadly, she could see the answer in his eyes already. She knew every silvery speck in them.

‘Can’t sorry. We’ve been invited to Minka’s dad’s new girlfriend’s gallery opening…some sort of abstract art.’

‘Painting with fingers?’ Jaz suggested.

Taylor laughed and nudged her shoulder. ‘I’ll text you a picture of it and you can see for yourself. You might be able to pick a finger painting better than I can.’ He squeezed her affectionately before pulling away. ‘Catch ya later, Jazzy.’

‘Yeah, bye, Tay.’ Jaz walked into her change room. She changed into her black trackies and hoodie before putting on her music. She decided a bit of Linkin Park was called for to vent some frustration and started her pavement-pounding run to the gym.

Jaz was still trying to de-Taylor-ise, so when she got to the gym it took her a few minutes to see a new body at the speedball. She’d stopped mid stride and gaped at the rippled back which gleamed with sweat.

Ryan in his shirt was impressive. Ryan without a shirt was bloody amazing. With a dry mouth, Jaz went to Pax’s office, sat behind the two-way mirror and found her gaze returning to Ryan’s body. Now
that
was a specimen of a man. Yeah, Taylor was good-looking and his body was lean but Ryan had those extra years of filling out, real muscles and strength. She could see long scars on his back. Some in the shape of a circle. Intriguing.

After a drink of water, she decided to do her yoga, which she did as often as she could. Jaz headed to her usual corner of the gym where her yoga mat sat waiting. She placed her feet at the end of the mat and started her
Ujjayi
breathing before moving through the positions. A calmness settled through her as she enjoyed the stretches.

It was a while later that she realised Ryan was on a mat not far from her. He looked like he’d been doing stomach crunches, lying on his back with his knees bent and his hands behind his head. But after a while she didn’t detect any movement. She glanced his way and met his eyes and he smiled. The bugger was just lying there watching her, and he had the nerve to smile! She tried to ignore him as she finished, thinking of her breathing and relaxing her muscles.

‘You alright?’ she asked getting up and sending him a look, which she hoped said ‘don’t mess with me’.

But Ryan just laughed at her discomfort. ‘What was that you were doing…all that bendy twisty stuff?’ His voice held amazement.

Now she couldn’t help but smile, her irritation gone. ‘You’ve never seen yoga before?’ Jaz asked, sitting down opposite him as he sat up. His naked chest glistened golden with a thin film of sweat. She continued her assessment of his body until she met his gaze. He’d caught her out and she felt a blush creep up her neck.

‘My mum did yoga when I was a kid but I don’t remember it being anything like that,’ he said with a smile.

‘This is called
Ashtanga
yoga. We had a teacher here at the gym who’s since moved but I’ve kept doing it. I find it very rewarding.’ And helps to control my moods, she thought.

‘How so?’

Jaz flicked her hair over her shoulder. ‘Well, yoga is the controlling of the mind in a way, and we do a breathing and movement system which is called
Vinyasa
. For each movement there is one breath. It helps with internal cleansing. It heats the blood, cleaning and thinning it so that it may circulate more freely. Improved blood circulation relieves joint pain and removes toxins and disease from the internal organs. The sweat generated from the heat of
Vinyasa
then carries the impurities out of the body.’

‘Yeah, I’ve heard that sweating is good. At work, we have an infrared sauna, which helps us recover from muscle injuries quicker.’

‘What, being a bouncer?’ She thought it must be pretty physical to need a sauna.

‘Um, well I do other jobs. I’m not just a bouncer.’ He waved her question away and changed the subject. ‘And do you do this yoga everyday?’

‘I try to. My mum reckons it’s good for me, she thinks I’m a bit hot-tempered.’

Ryan laughed, it was soft and tingly to her ears and for the first time she saw a glimpse of gold in his dark brown eyes.

‘Besides that, it gives me inner strength and great flexibility.’

‘Hmm, yes, I could see that.’ He smiled when Jaz rolled her eyes. ‘But stuffed if I could get my legs in any of those positions.’

‘Yeah, you could with practice.’

‘Are you offering to teach me?’

Jaz choked on her laugh. ‘You’re a funny one!’

‘Well, I must thank you, anyway.’

Jaz’s laughter died down and she looked at him strangely. ‘What for?’

‘Let’s just say I didn’t think I’d be able to laugh again, but you’ve proved me wrong. So I’m grateful.’ And to prove it he smiled. It was genuine and warm but edged in sadness.

The air was still between them as she studied him. His eyes, as guarded as they were, hinted at great pain and loss.

‘You’ve had it tough, hey?’ Jaz asked quietly. It was the way Ryan had said the words, so full of sincerity and weight. She saw a flash of anger stretch across his tight jaw, as if he was replaying whatever it was that had caused him so much pain. But a second later he shut down, sealing his eyes with a steely glaze and burying it all.

‘Yeah, you could say that,’ he answered softly.

Jaz felt the urge to touch his arm or grasp his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze, but hell…she hardly knew the bloke. He could be a raving loony for all she knew.

‘Hey, Jaz!’

Jasmine turned towards the front door and spotted Anna, who was out of her school uniform and wearing jeans and a blue jumper. ‘Hey, it’s Anna Montana.’

Anna poked her tongue out at the nickname as she walked towards them. Jaz waved to the guy opposite her. ‘Anna, this is Ryan. Ryan, this is my best friend, Anna.’

‘Heeeey,’ said Anna slowly as her steps faltered.

‘How ya goin’?’ replied Ryan friendlily.

Anna tried to smile but she looked like she was going to melt. Jaz sighed and grabbed Anna’s arm steering her towards the office. She flicked her head back to Ryan. ‘Catch ya later.’ He nodded and begun some more stomach crunches.

‘Who was he and why did you take me away from him?’ asked Anna when they were in the quiet of Pax’s office.

Jaz closed the door and then sat on the spare computer chair. Anna claimed the one by the desk.

‘I was saving you from making a fool of yourself.’

‘I wasn’t!’

‘Oh, please! If you’d stayed there any longer I would have had to fetch the mop bucket for your drool. Haven’t I taught you enough about how to not show your emotions on the outside?’

Anna went a shade of pink and then snorted. ‘Was I really that bad?’

‘Uh huh,’ said Jaz as she watched Anna lean on the table so she could look out the window.

‘But he’s so hot. Have you seen his bod! And those eyes, so mysterious. How did he end up here?’

Jaz stood there with her eyebrows raised in a mock expression. ‘Are you done yet?’

Anna giggled. ‘Come on, are you telling me you don’t find him attractive?’

Jaz flicked her eyes towards Ryan who was now doing some push-ups. His body was as straight as a flagpole and his arms rippled with each motion. ‘Of course I do, what warm-blooded woman wouldn’t. But…’

‘But he’s not Taylor,’ answered Anna.

Jaz shrugged, unsure if that was what she was going to say. Something about Ryan made him a little edgy and dark. She wasn’t sure if she was fascinated by that or just bloody afraid.

Her phone beeped and her gut knew it was from Taylor. She pressed open his message of a picture he sent. It was a canvas of colours in no order or pattern, kind of resembling a night on the curry.

It’s worse than we thought, the artist used her sponge collection!

‘Oh, is that from Taylor? I can tell, you’ve got that dreamy smile you only reserve for him.’

Jaz tried to frown.

‘Well while you deal with Taylor, I’m gonna go surf the net. Tell him I said hi.’

And within a few seconds Anna was already opening screens and infiltrating stuff far beyond Jaz’s knowledge.

‘Okay, master at work. I’ll see ya after I’ve cleaned the toilets.’ Jaz opened the door and walked towards the storage cupboard while looking at Taylor’s text. She was trying to think of something witty to reply, something to impress. Good luck trying to do that, she thought. She collected gloves and the blue toilet blocks ready to spend the next half hour scrubbing toilet bowls. In the end she sent him a picture of the urinal with her scrubbing brush in view and texted.

Wanna come help me?

Ha ha, you’re so funny!